Images acquired in many systems used for radiological applications, including fluoroscopy, angiographic X-ray, mammography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are typically represented with greater than 8 bits per pixel. While this extended bit depth is used for carrying out image processing without the loss of perceived image integrity, current displays used with these systems are usually 8-bit displays, requiring the precision of the displayed image to be down-sampled to 8 bits of precision per pixel. While most people viewing a greyscale image are not able to discern more than the 256 grey shades that an 8-bit pixel is able to provide, radiologists that spend large amounts of time viewing these images are often able to detect differences that could be represented by a 10-bit display. 10-bit display hardware, however, is relatively expensive compared with standard 8-bit display hardware. A system according to invention principles addresses this deficiency and related problems.